A Tale of Triumph & the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

In the fall of 2006 I was unemployed and uninspired. I was hoping to move to Boston but job prospects were dim. I was sitting on the couch in my parent's tv room when the phone rang. Not my cell phone, the house phone. Ancient times.

It was my mom and she was very excited. She was calling from work and couldn't wait to get home to tell me that she had the chance to be a part of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. She also added that she wanted me to join in the fun. I was told we'd be balloon handler's and her enthusiasm had me feeling some kind of nice. I said yes.

Flash to parade day assignments and I learn that we're not needed on balloon handling, they needed our talent as clowns. I was not exactly thrilled but still I knew it would be an experience.

Being a clown in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is no joke. We had to attend Clown College. A day of training in the city. My mother was beyond ecstatic, I didn't have the heart to bail.

Our Balloon Handler Attire, pre parade!

On the morning of the parade, my mother and I drove into the city and got on a very long line on a very cold morning. By the time we filed into the hotel for our costumes and make-up, I was numb. Post make-up application we boarded buses to take us to the start of our route. But not before my mom shoved as much confetti into her pockets as she could.

The end of the route is what the tv viewers at home see. Every year we file quietly into Herald Square and walk past all of the lucky, warm people in the bleacher seats outside of Macy's flagship.
As we waited our turn to be paraded, literally, past the cameras, my mom and I noticed a pair of women throwing chap-sticks to the crowd and parade attendees. I didn't know who they were or where they came from but I was happy to snag a free chap-stick. 

The women were quickly escorted out as it became clear they were not invited guests. I didn't think much of it at the time. I kept that handy lip balm with the cute Christmas themed cartoon in my desk drawer for years. That cartoon? Elf on the Shelf.

Can we get any cuter? My mom had her apron on backwards BTW.

We ended up participating in the parade for over 10 years. The first four years as clowns and the remaining years as balloon handlers. One of the last years we marched in the parade we were assigned to handle Elf on the Shelf. The once uninvited guests were now official in the eyes of Macy's and the world over. Ask any parent about their child's Elf on a Shelf and they'll be happy to tell you how they forgot to move the Elf at bedtime only to remember at 3am when they woke up in a cold sweat.

I don't know all the details of this magical Elf or his origin story. But I do know that the two women who brought him to life, Carol Aebersold and her daughter Chanda Bell didn't scare easily.

They had a vision for their creation and goals for themselves. I can only assume they surpassed those goals and then some. Whenever I see Elf on the Shelf every Christmas, I don't think of a children's toy. I think of two bad ass ladies who made it happen for themselves and didn't take 'NO' for an answer.

All of these people to hold one little Elf!